Temptation Isle
by Femme Fatales
Summary: Couples from various FF games, GW, and Chrono Trigger see if their relationship can last through anything, even the lustful singles who are there to break them up! Parody of FOX show Temptation Island, sexual content, character bashing. DAY 4 NOW UP!
1. Commercial

**Coming to 20th Century Hound…**

**Love…**

_ Celes picked up her glass of wine and twirled her arm around Locke's, who also had a glass of grape wine. Each drank from their own glass and smiled at one another.  
"Eek! Irvy!" Selphie shrieked as she got cream from a chocolate éclair on her cheek, "You missed!"  
Irvine laughed and wiped the cream off her cheek with his finger.  
The sound of plastic against plastic was heard at the other end of the table. "Hah! Take that, Zechs Merquise!" Noin yelled, trying to knock the plastic straw from Zechs' hand with her own plastic straw.  
"Never, Lucrezia Noin! I shall be victorious!" Zechs replied, successfully knocking the straw out of Noin's hand.  
Noin fake gasped as Zechs pointed his straw at her. "Gracious Zechs Merquise, I ask you, spare this simple girl's life. I'll grant you anything in return."  
"A kiss."  
Noin held back her laughter as she pushed Zechs 'sword' aside and gave him a kiss. The two then broke into laughter.  
Edgar dug the fork into the strawberry shortcake and lifted it up towards Terra's mouth. Terra smiled and opened her mouth, but at the last moment, Edgar pulled the fork away and ate the piece of cake. Terra pouted, grabbed another fork and broke off a piece of cake. She picked up the piece with her fingers and offered it to Edgar, pulling away at the last second, eating it herself, sticking her tongue out at him. Edgar laughed._

**

Trust…

**

_ Meanwhile, the girls were just starting the messages from the guys.  
Amica had woken up during the rest of the day, and was radiating happiness. She pressed play on the VCR.  
It was Zechs. "I miss you, Lu. Stay faithful, I trust you." He walked off, looking very dignified. Noin was glowing.  
The next one was Squall. Rinoa didn't look very good, everyone noted.  
"Rinoa, I swore to be your knight. But little did I know you'd end up stabbing me in the back like this. At this point, there's no chance in hell I'll stay with you. I can't believe I trusted you in the first place." He walked off, and Rinoa trembled._

**

Lust…

**

_ "You want us wet? Well, fine!" Rinoa teased as she leapt into the water. "Come on in, Seifer!" The blond, however, just looked disdainfully at the water and shook his head. Rinoa pouted, but finally gave up and climbed out of the pool, not bothering to adjust her bikini top which was slipping at a much less-than-decent level. She grabbed Seifer's wrist, tugging him into the water.  
Spitting out water and cursing her, he clambered out of the water. Poor Seifer had been wearing his trademark trenchcoat over a muscle shirt and pants, and they clung to him like a wet animal's fur. His eyes were glaring at her, filled with contempt. But she was staring at him, undaunted. Suddenly, their lips met in a passionate kiss filled with such lust everyone in the room felt several degrees warmer. Rinoa, still grasping his wrist, pulled him to a private location outside the mansion in a shaded grove near a tree._

**

Temptation…

**

_ "You've been apart from your girlfriends for no more than an hour. Shouldn't there be some resting period so you can cope wi---" Zechs was cut off as feminine hands slowly crept down his chest. "Uh…"  
"I can help you rest." A soft voice whispered into Zechs' ear. Zechs abruptly turned around, faced Tifa and turned red.  
"Thank you… for… the offer... but it's not… uh… necessary." Zechs stuttered and tried to push his chair backwards and away from close proximity to Tifa.  
"Well, no problem." Tifa huskily replied, going to sit down on Irvine's lap, who readily accepted her._

**7 couples.  
20 singles.  
1 island.  
Temptation Isle.**

- - - 

* Author's Notes: Well, before we continue this and go into warnings, we should probably explain who we are (if you haven't read our bio). We are Jeokitty and The Almighty SporkGoddess. We're co-authoring this fic together and hope that it's well loved. Now, onto warnings:  
- Tifa-bashing  
- Rinoa-bashing  
- Crossover (in case that wasn't obvious)  
- Lime  
- Mary Sue parody  
- Extremely odd pairings (Eg. Edgar/Dorothy)  
- Altered Temptation Island rules (blocks only mean no dating, different couple to single ratio, different date selecting method, different method of video message showing and date video viewing, un-orthodox singles) 

Hound is just a parody of Fox, in case that wasn't picked up. 

And finally, disclaimers. We don't own anything, except Amica and Alandra. They're ours and us too (just because Mary Sue's are fun to parody). 


	2. Day 1

The sun shone brightly down upon the gently swaying dock. A motorboat approached the dock, pushing the water aside from its path. The driver of the boat carefully steered the boat and aligned it with the dock. The engine was cut and the boat stopped. The door opened and 14 people stepped off the boat. Each had arms entwined around someone else. Soft whispers of reassurance and words of love could be heard.  
  
"Irvy, are you sure about this?"  
  
"Think of it as a test, Sefie. We'll be fine…"  
  
"… so much. I'll miss you so much, Locke."  
  
"We don't have to say goodbye yet, Celes..."  
  
"…Squall, we still have time to back out."  
  
"We don't need to…"  
  
"Edgar…"  
  
"Don't worry, Terra. You know I love you with all my heart..."  
  
"Woman, I can't believe you made me come here."  
  
"I won our bet fair and square. Besides, we're both faithful..."  
  
"Shinigami, you watch yourself."  
  
Sound of rich laughter. "You watch yourself too, cutie..."  
  
"Why are we doing this again? You should know never to listen to Treize by now, Zechs!"  
  
As the whispers continued, two women approached the group.  
  
"Welcome to… Temptation Isle."  
  
The whispers ceased and attention was given to the two women. The females rolled their eyes as their men boggled at the two beautiful women, maybe it wouldn't be so easy, after all. Even though they were already on the isle, just looking at them made this feel like a tropical getaway, not a sadistic game of willpower. One of the women was tall and lanky; her slim yet curvy figure clad in a bikini top that had flowers on it in warm shades; red, orange, and yellow with a matching wrap skirt. White high-heeled sandals kept her delicate feet from touching the scorching sand. Her long hair was a brilliant blue reminiscent of the sea; her eyes were also blue, only a lighter shade.  
  
The other girl was much shorter; maybe even shorter than the shortest girl of the couples was. Despite her short stature, she had long slender legs that were well toned, probably from dancing. White shorts that came to her upper calves showed off these legs rather nicely. With it, she paired a strapless bikini top; unlike her companion's it was pink with flowers of every color imaginable on it. To add to its vivid (some would say tawdry) décor were tiny pink gems, which were obviously fake, but still sparkled in the sunlight. Also like her friend, she wore high-heeled white sandals; only hers were covered in glitter, giving them more of a silvery look. The entire effect was emphasized by many sparkly, different-colored bracelets winding their way up her wrists and nearly to her elbows, and many earrings in her ears, large hoops at the bottom and winding up the upper part of her ears were studs and smaller hoops. The only, well, normal, part of her appearance was her large blue eyes and chestnut-colored hair coming down to her upper back, streaked with natural streaks of blonde, and many streaks of red that couldn't possibly be natural.  
  
"We're glad you all made it here. For the next 2 weeks, your commitment, your dedication to one another and the strength of your relationships will be tested." The blue-haired girl spoke. Eyeing the other, who was playing with one of her bracelets and obviously distracted, she gave her a small poke with a manicured finger and her head snapped up.  
  
"What?? Oh yeah, right…. That scary, intimidating speech thing! Uh… Oh yeah… Make yourselves at home; the singles are already here…. And soon the fun will begin! MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!" She had to pause to take a breath, and then continued, "AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!". It went on in this manner until the other whispered something to her (probably that this was being televised), and she immediately stopped and fixed her hair, looking self-conscious.  
  
"Uh…. Anyway…" The tall woman looked torn between amusement and alienation. "My name is Alandra, and this is Amica. We shall be your hosts for the entire duration of this test."  
  
"And might I add, no BRIBING PLEASE. IT WILL not WORK; not JEWELRY OR MONEY, OR ANYTHING THAT WE LIKE." Amica winked.  
  
Alandra just slapped her forehead.  
  
"Well, we'll be your hosts for the next two weeks if neither of us gets fired!" She cast a sidelong glance at Amica, who was too engrossed in a tap dance to notice.  
  
By now, the couples were giving each other "looks". You know: "What in the name of fudgemonkeys is going on here?" looks that only two people can exchange.  
  
"So… where are the single ladies?" the auburn haired cowboy asked, receiving a sharp blow in the ribs from the short brunette beside him. "Just kidding, babe…"  
  
"Well, the singles are already here. You'll meet them this afternoon, right after lunch. After meeting the singles, you'll be led to your separate living quarters and will not be able to communicate directly with each other for the next two weeks. But, before we go off to eat, introductions are necessary."  
  
  
  
The camera spanned to the short brunette who had just hurt her boyfriend.  
  
"So, introduce yourself and your boyfriend!" Alandra gave her the microphone.  
  
"Okay! Hi! I'm Selphie Tilmitt and this is Irvine Kinneas! We're SeeDs, and we helped save the world! It's actually a REALLY funny story, like ok there was this sorceres—" She was cut off by her boyfriend.  
  
"Uh, Sefie… I think we can save the story for later."  
  
"Oh, ok Irvy!" She reached up and gave him a quick kiss.  
  
Even Amica was scratching her head at this. Selphie handed the microphone to the next couple: a young man with a long braid and a cute girl with short hair. Alandra licked her lips at the sight of the guy, then remembered that she was on camera.  
  
"Yo! I'm Shinigami, the God of Death! And this is the future Goddess of Death, Hilde Schbeiker!" Hilde rolled her eyes, then stole the microphone.  
  
"We haven't quite agreed on what my title will be! And his name is actually Duo Maxwell!" She quipped.  
  
"Uh…. Ok…" Alandra commented, having Hilde hand the microphone to a brown-haired man with a scar, and a raven-haired girl next to him.  
  
"…"  
  
"What Squall means to say is… oh shoot! I've never been good at this, that was Quistis' job to read him!"  
  
"…"  
  
"Oh, why can't you ever talk honey? Ok, I'm Rinoa Heartilly and this hottie is Squall Leonhart!" Rinoa jumped into the guy's arms. He raised an eyebrow, and shrugged at everyone else.  
  
"Riiight…" Alandra stole the microphone from the girl, who was starting to tell the nostalgic tale of how she and Squall had gotten together, and gave it to another pretty, short-haired woman with a guy with long hair. ("We have a recurring trend," Amica joked).  
  
"Do I have to this? Ok, fine… I'm Lucrezia Noin, but everyone calls me Noin, and this is Zechs Merquise, but he's also called Milliardo Peacecraft… it's a long story. Anyway, we're usually at Mars but we came here just to do this thing…. As for why, ask him!"  
  
The camera panned to Zechs, but he soundlessly motioned for them to move on.  
  
"Do we have any normal people here?" Alandra asked herself. She saw Amica grab the microphone and start to sing a showtune into it. "Guess not…" She stole it from the girl mid-aria and gave it to the next couple: a guy with blonde hair and a girl with green hair.  
  
"Hello, ladies!" He saw Terra's face twist in anger and quickly added, "And gentlemen! I'm Edgar Roni Figaro, King of Figaro! And this is my lovely girlfriend, Terra Branford!"  
  
"…."  
  
"She's not much of a public speaker," Edgar explained, then handed the microphone to a Chinese couple; one with blonde hair and the other with the traditional black hair.  
  
"I'm Sally Po, and this is Wuf…"  
  
"Why do you get to introduce us, woman!? You are too weak!" An enraged voice cut in.  
  
"-Fei Chang!" Sally continued doggedly. "I'm a certified doctor who works on the Preventers, and Wufei works with me."  
  
"This is injustice, woman! NATAKU!" Wufei screamed into the microphone before it mysteriously cut off. (Sally shot the technician a grateful look.)  
  
"Good Lord…" Alandra was glad that it was the final couple as she handed them the microphone: a pretty blonde woman and a roguish looking guy.  
  
"Hey, I'm Celes Chere! I used to be a general before I betrayed them and they caught me, and Locke Cole here rescued me!" She gave the man a hug; he blushed, grinning. "Anyway, now I travel around with Locke… he's a thief!"  
  
"THAT'S TREASURE HUNTER!" Locke bellowed indignantly.  
  
"Yeah, whatever! Anyway, we're happy to be here! Our relationship can survive anything, and this will just prove to everyone how serious we are!"  
  
"And that concludes our introductions!" Amica told the camera happily, probably glad that this freakshow was over. As if that wasn't the pot calling the kettle black! "Now, let's go eat!"  
  
The two women led the couples over to the large beach house. "This will be your last meal together for the next 2 weeks. Enjoy it."  
  
The couples all sat down and Amica and Alandra sat at opposite ends of the table. The table was covered in fruits, desserts, and sandwiches. It was a simple lunch, but the couples thought it was special, since it was their last meal together.  
  
Hilde giggled as Duo fed her a grape. Wufei looked at them in repugnance until Sally put a strawberry up to his lips. He turned and looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing, woman?"  
  
"Feeding you."  
  
Wufei was about to open his mouth to argue, but Sally quickly put the tip of the strawberry into his mouth. Considering his options; eating this strawberry or having Sally pissed at him for not eating it, Wufei bite down and smiled at her.  
  
Rinoa watched Hilde and Wufei in envy. "Squally… will you feed me a piece of fruit?"  
  
Squall looked up from his sandwich and gave her a puzzling look. "But… you're eating an apple right now."  
  
Rinoa looked down at her right hand and tossed the apple behind her back. "Apple?"  
  
Squall sweatdropped.  
  
Celes picked up her glass of wine and twirled her arm around Locke's, who also had a glass of grape wine. Each drank from their own glass and smiled at one another.  
  
"Eek! Irvy!" Selphie shrieked as she got cream from a chocolate éclair on her cheek, "You missed!"  
  
Irvine laughed and wiped the cream off her cheek with his finger.  
  
The sound of plastic against plastic was heard at the other end of the table. "Hah! Take that, Zechs Merquise!" Noin yelled, trying to knock the plastic straw from Zechs' hand with her own plastic straw.  
  
"Never, Lucrezia Noin! I shall be victorious!" Zechs replied, successfully knocking the straw out of Noin's hand.  
  
Noin fake gasped as Zechs pointed his straw at her. "Gracious Zechs Merquise, I ask you, spare this simple girl's life. I'll grant you anything in return."  
  
"A kiss."  
  
Noin held back her laughter as she pushed Zechs 'sword' aside and gave him a kiss. The two then broke into laughter.  
  
Edgar dug the fork into the strawberry shortcake and lifted it up towards Terra's mouth. Terra smiled and opened her mouth, but at the last moment, Edgar pulled the fork away and ate the piece of cake. Terra pouted, grabbed another fork and broke off a piece of cake. She picked up the piece with her fingers and offered it to Edgar, pulling away at the last second, eating it herself, sticking her tongue out at him. Edgar laughed.  
  
Once lunch was finished, Amica and Alandra grinned to each other. "Now the fun begins!" Amica announced to the couples, "It's time to split and meet the singles. However, there'll be a tour before meeting the singles. But that doesn't matter, because you're not going to be touring together anyways! Cue the tearful goodbyes!"  
  
After many kisses and "I love you"s and "I'll miss you soo much!"s and "I think I'm going to cry! OH SQUALLY HUG ME!"s, the couples split. Amica took delight in leading the guys around, while Alandra gave the girls a tour.  
  
Within an hour, the groups and their tour guides met again at the pool behind the beach house. "Now, you're not allowed to talk to your significant other anymore. That would just take all the fun out of it!" Alandra explained.  
  
The couples were seated, guys and girls separate.  
  
"Everyone comfortable?" Amica asked. The couples nodded in reply. "Then let's bring on the singles!"  
  
Within moments, 10 single women and 10 single men, all clad in simple beachwear, were lined up on different sides of the pool.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen… meet your temptation." Alandra said, grinning. She left a moment of silence go by, for the couples to awe at the singles, or to back out right now should they want to. "The singles already know to stop at nothing to tempt you. Now, let's get to know them!"  
  
Amica shot Alandra a look, telling her to brace for the worst, after the introductions the couples had.  
  
A blonde woman stepped up; her hair up in a bun with the sides hanging down.  
  
"I'm Quistis Trepe. I'm 19 years old, an instructor at Balamb GARDEN, and the official Squall-mind-reader!" she said, winking at Squall. Squall smiled and Rinoa fumed.  
  
Next, a silver-haired woman took the microphone. "RAGE"  
  
"Come again?" Alandra asked.  
  
"SEIFER. REVENGE. FIGHT."  
  
Only Amica seemed to understand. "Ok, she just had a fight with her boyfriend and they're participating in this as singles to get revenge on each other!"  
  
"…" Alandra just handed the microphone to the next woman, a very ….well-endowed woman with long brown hair.  
  
"I'm Tifa! I'm 20 and I participate in martial arts!"  
  
"…How?" Amica demanded. Alandra poked her, but she appeared to be thinking the same thing.  
  
"Duct-tape and a sports bras!" Tifa answered happily.  
  
"Good god, that's her with a SPORTS BRA on?" Alandra whispered to Amica, who nodded sullenly, eyeing Tifa.  
  
The microphone was handed to the next girl, and immediately as it happened, light fell on the girl. She was clothed in all white, her green eyes sparkling.  
  
"My name is Aerith. I am 22 years old and a flower girl from the slums. I love flowers, and…" Her eyes misted over, and she was unable to continue; wordlessly she handed the microphone to the next person. She had honey blonde hair and wore a ridiculously pink bikini.  
  
"Hi, I'm Relena Darlian, also known as Relena Peacecraft, former Queen of the World! I'm 18, I love my brother, long walks on the beach, my butler Pagan, pacifism, and…" she continued talking, as Amica grabbed the microphone from her and handed it to a young woman with long blonde hair and forked eyebrows.  
  
"Hiii, I'm Dorothy! I'm 19 and I love war! War, and Zechs!" At the mention of Zechs, a maddened Relena jumped her. "I…mph…. Thought… .you…mph….were…pacifist AHHHHHH MY EYEBROWS!"  
  
"MY BROTHER?! I NO LONGER CONSIDER MYSELF A PEACECRAFT!" Zechs sweatdropped.  
  
Ignoring the match of hair-pulling and slapping, Alandra rescued the microphone and gave it to the next woman, a petite brunette with blue eyes.  
  
"I'm Marguerite and I'm 18. My friends call me Margie though. My cousin, Bart, and I are supposed to get married someday; I don't know whether that's cute or gross! So, I figure if I do this and find some guy or learn something about commitment or realize it's okay or realize it's not or come to my senses and not do it even though it's a family tradition between our two families and thinking about this keeps me up all night and… Ahhh!" She screamed, after spewing out her entire life story in the span of 4.56356 seconds, then coughed and continued, "I'm from Nisan. Actually I'm its Great Mother."  
  
"Lovely, now we have incest in addition to catfights." Alandra muttered. She reluctantly gave the microphone to a raven-haired woman.  
  
"I'm Rachel and I'm 24! Locke used to be in love with me, let's see how he still feels!" She winked. Celes almost jumped out of her chair and Locke just slumped down into his.  
  
"I'm Marle. I'm 18 and I'm a princess who traveled through time!" A redhead declared.  
  
"I'm Schala… I'm 21 and I'm an enchantress." A lovely girl with milky blue hair declared, sending a burst of sparkles over the pool from her fingertips.  
  
"Well, well… if these guys have a thing for clingy psychopaths with emotional problems who need therapy, then this will be mighty tempting indeed!" Amica winked at the camera.  
  
Alandra took the microphone from Schala and cleared her throat. "Now, let's introduce these stunning single guys." She said, grinning widely. She walked over to the guys' end of the pool and handed the microphone to a blond man with spiked hair. He took the microphone and smiled at her. Alandra stood there with a goofy grin on her face for a little while.  
  
"Uh… Alandra?" Amica called out.  
  
Alandra blushed and quickly walked back over to where Amica stood.  
  
The blond winked at Alandra and started introducing himself. "Yo, I'm Zell. I'm 18 and I'm a martial artist."  
  
The next was another blonde, wearing a white trenchcoat. "I'm Seifer. I'm 19. I used to be a sorceress' knight. And, yes, I am here to spite my girlfriend." Seifer said, looking to Fuujin, who only looked away.  
  
Alandra moved on to the next man, a suave brunette holding a rose. "A rose for you, m'lady." Alandra giggled. "I am Treize Kushrenada, aged 25. I am a soldier, but an honorable one at that."  
  
The next was a young man with sandy blonde hair. "I am Quatre Raberba Winner, age 18. I'm a pacifist and the heir to the Winner fortune. I like playing violin." He smiled.  
  
Alandra moved on to the next man, a tall thin man with long blonde hair tied in a braid like Duo's. She merely stared as he spoke:  
  
"I'm Bartholomew Fatima, but you can call me Bart. I'm a prince, but I'm also a pirate. I'm 20 years old." He winked, causing Alandra to almost faint. She moved on before too much blood rushed to her head.  
  
An extremely handsome man with long silver hair and startlingly green eyes met her gaze. She gulped and just handed him the microphone.  
  
"I'm Sephiroth, age unknown. I was once SOLDIER'S greatest, and the role model to many."  
  
The next was a guy with spiky blonde hair. "… I'm Cloud. I have a confusing life. It's best not to ask. All I basically know is that I'm 21!"  
  
Alandra swooned for a little over the next man; lean and muscular with a short blonde ponytail wearing a muscle shirt and pants.  
  
"The name's Sabin Figaro. I'm Edgar's brother, and a prince of Figaro. I became a martial artist, though, under the best trainer ever… Duncan!"  
  
The next man was silver-haired, like Sephiroth, only not as tall or strong-looking. He wasn't bad, though.  
  
"I am Setzer Gabbianni, lovely lady." He took Alandra's hand and kissed it. "I build airships, and I go where the wind takes me… I enjoy playing cards, and am what one would call a free spirit."  
  
The next was a guy with spiky brown hair. "I'm Crono, age 19." That was all he said. Alandra shrugged and moved to where Amica was standing.  
  
"Now that you've met the singles, it's time to decide who your significant other shouldn't date!" Amica exclaimed in glee, cackling evilly, "This is the best part!"  
  
Alandra sweatdropped. "Right… well, during your tour, you were all given a necklace of a specific colour. Your significant other has the exact same coloured necklace. Now, one by one, you'll be presented with a bracelet of the same colour. You place that bracelet on the wrist of the one guy or girl you don't want your girlfriend or boyfriend to date. Simple as that! Of course, they can still talk and interact."  
  
Amica smiled and carried the tray of bracelets over to the girls. She picked up a pink bracelet and handed it to Rinoa. Rinoa immediately stood up and walked over to Quistis. Without saying anything, she slipped the bracelet onto Quistis' wrist and sat back down in her chair, crossing her arms. Amica handed a white bracelet to Celes next. Celes walked over to Rachel in a fashion similar to Rinoa. She slipped the white bracelet onto Rachel's wrist and sat back down.  
  
"Well, it's already heating up." Alandra commented.  
  
Amica handed a purple bracelet to Noin next. "Give the bracelet to whoever you want." Noin stood up and carefully considered her options. As she was about to make a decision, something caught her eye. It was Relena jumping up and down, pointing to Dorothy. Noin chuckled, and to humour Relena, she slipped the bracelet onto Dorothy's wrist.  
  
The next bracelet, a black one, was handed to Hilde. She jumped up from her chair and skipped over to the single girls. "Now… who would be a threat to my Shinigami?" Hilde asked herself, giggling. Hilde skipped over to Relena. "This is nothing personal!" she declared as she slipped the black bracelet onto Relena's wrist.  
  
A yellow bracelet was handed to Selphie. "Am I allowed to make everyone share this one bracelet?" Selphie asked.  
  
"Hey!" Irvine yelled out.  
  
"Err… uh… no." Alandra replied.  
  
"Darn!" Selphie cursed. She looked amongst the girls and stopped in front of Marle. "Hmm… okay! You get the bracelet!" she said, slipping the yellow bracelet onto Marle's wrist.  
  
Amica handed a green bracelet to Terra. Terra silently stood up and slipped the bracelet onto Tifa's wrist. She could almost hear Edgar's disappointed groan.  
  
The final bracelet, a red one, was handed to Sally. Sally stood up and walked in front of Aerith. She slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. "Trust me, I'm doing you a favour." Sally joked, turning around and winking at Wufei.  
  
"Woman…!" Wufei yelled.  
  
Sally chuckled and blew a kiss at Wufei.  
  
"And now it's the guys' turn!" Amica exclaimed excitedly. Alandra picked up another tray, which 7 different bracelets sat upon. She smiled and walked over to the guys. She picked up a pink bracelet and handed it to Squall. Squall silently stood up and eyed Seifer. He didn't bother slipping it onto his wrist, but just held it out for him. Seifer took the bracelet and put it on.  
  
"Should I feel honoured?" Seifer asked, smirking. Squall just turned around and sat back down. Amica and Alandra sweatdropped. Alandra quickly walked over to Locke and handed him a white bracelet. Locke casually walked over to Setzer.  
  
"Just to remind you that she's Celes and not Maria." Locke said, handing Setzer the bracelet.  
  
Alandra waited until Locke was seated again to hand Zechs a purple bracelet. Zechs stood up. After a rousing game of "eenie-meeny-minie-mo", he shrugged and wordlessly gave the bracelet to Quatre.  
  
Duo was handed the next bracelet, a black one. He cheerfully jumped up from his chair and surveyed the line of guys. He stopped in front of Bart. "Well, I wouldn't want my Hilde missing me too much and going for you." Duo said, chuckling as he handed the bracelet to Bart.  
  
A yellow bracelet was handed to Irvine. Irvine confidently walked right up to Zell and gave him the bracelet.  
  
Alandra handed the next bracelet, a green one, to Edgar. "Let's see, Terra obviously likes the tall, dashing and handsome kind," Edgar said, grinning, "So, who would she go for?" He stopped in front of Treize and assessed him. "Congratulations." Edgar said, handing Treize the green bracelet.  
  
The final bracelet, a red one, was handed to Wufei. Wufei scowled as he walked up to Sephiroth. He handed the bracelet to him and kept scowling. He sat back down and still kept scowling.  
  
Alandra set down the tray and smiled cheerfully at the camera. "And with that, we have our stage set for the next 2 weeks. Will these blocks only encourage relationships to develop? Or will the participants stay true to their lover's wishes? Time will only tell."  
  
"And we'll see to it that it's exciting, edge-of-your-seat action!" Amica promised, with an evil glint in her eye.  
  
~  
  
Noin, Rinoa, Hilde, Selphie, Terra, Celes and Sally were sitting around a patio table, sipping cocktail drinks. Each wore a swimsuit suiting their style.  
  
"2 weeks. I haven't a clue how I'll survive that long without the sight or smell of my sweet cowboy." Selphie pouted.  
  
"It's only 2 weeks! And besides, we have cute guys to keep us company!" Hilde chirped cheerfully.  
  
"Speaking of which, where are they?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"I think they're inside the beach house. At least, that's where I last saw them." Celes answered.  
  
"Why are they in there and not out here, seducing us like they're suppose to?" Hilde pointed out, giggling.  
  
"I think they're doing something." Terra quietly responded.  
  
"Oh? Doing something?" Selphie repeated, brightening up. She loved little surprises.  
  
"Should we go see what they're planning?" Noin questioned.  
  
"We should wait until they come and get us, shouldn't we? Wouldn't want the surprise ruined." Sally reasoned.  
  
The girls all agreed and went back to sipping their drinks. Within 15 minutes, 7 guys walked out of the beach house and approached the ladies. Each stepped beside a specific girl. The girls quickly realized the guy standing beside them was the one their boyfriends had blocked.  
  
"How devious!" Hilde exclaimed in glee, as she hooked her arm through Bart's.  
  
"Quite." Sally agreed, similarly hooking hers through Sephiroth's.  
  
With each girl's arm hooked through that of the guy they were blocked from, they group entered the beach house. Inside, the ladies were even more pleasantly surprised. On the table was an elegant meal set up especially for them.  
  
"This is for us?" Rinoa asked, her eyes sparkling as Seifer guided her to a chair.  
  
"Just for you." Seifer whispered into her ear. Rinoa blushed.  
  
"Most intriguing method of seduction." Noin commented.  
  
"Thank you." Quatre replied, pulling out her chair for her.  
  
Terra giggled softly as she hung onto Treize's right arm. "This is amazing..." she whispered softly.  
  
"Only for you, beautiful." Treize said, grinning.  
  
The girls all sat down and were fed their meals.  
  
~  
  
"So, what are we suppose to do now?" Duo asked the group of guys all sitting around the patio table.  
  
"I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for some sexy ladies." Irvine said, grinning.  
  
"You and me both!" Edgar agreed enthusiastically.  
  
Zechs rolled his eyes. "You've been apart from your girlfriends for no more than an hour. Shouldn't there be some resting period so you can cope wi---" Zechs was cut off as feminine hands slowly crept down his chest. "Uh…"  
  
"I can help you rest." A soft voice whispered into Zechs' ear. Zechs abruptly turned around, faced Tifa and turned red.  
  
"Thank you… for… the offer... but it's not… uh… necessary." Zechs stuttered and tried to push his chair backwards and away from close proximity to Tifa.  
  
"Well, no problem." Tifa huskily replied, going to sit down on Irvine's lap, who readily accepted her.  
  
Zechs sweatdropped and cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said, shooting a look at Irvine, "we've only been apart from our girlfriends for no more than an hour. Don't you even miss them?"  
  
"Of course. But we are here to enjoy ourselves." Locke pointed out, Rachel already giving him a massage.  
  
"But there has to be some break in between." Zechs continued to argue.  
  
Schala knelt down beside him and presented to him a tray of fruit, which seemed to have sparkles glittering all around it. Zechs gave her a look of exasperation and Schala only smiled. "I can tell how much you love your girlfriend. I'm only here to offer you some fruit."  
  
Zechs smiled back and took a piece of cantaloupe. "Thank you."  
  
Marle turned to look at the only other girl in the room who wasn't trying to seduce anyone, Aerith. Aerith was looking very ethereal in a light pink sundress and white sandals that strapped around her slender ankles. Shimmering auburn curls were cascading down her creamy shoulders. Sally would have had some competition if Aerith had shown any interest in Wufei, which she hadn't yet. As Wufei and Aerith were as different as night and day, that was a very good thing.  
  
She decided that it was fun to survey the odds, and her gaze fell on Tifa. Aerith's angelic sundress was quite a contrast to Tifa's bikini, which was so skimpy it couldn't even fit the "string" category. That would be a thread bikini, in Marle's opinion. Marle was supposed to be seducing Irvine, but she really didn't feel like doing that, plus Tifa had her covered. Irvine and Edgar were such superficial jerks that they would probably be the first ones out of the game.  
  
Marle smiled as she smoothed down her own sundress, which was mint- green with straw sandals and a cute little straw hat. Schala would surely give that Noin girl competition if Zechs hadn't been so devoted. Even if the redhead herself was pretty, Schala radiated loveliness from every inch of her creamy skin, which was highlighted by the light violet tank top and capri pants she wore, which were dark violet with light purple flowers on them. Marle felt very envious at the fact that she had matching purple sandals with spiked heels, then remembered that the girl was an enchantress and probably made them that color.  
  
She then glanced over to where Squall and Quistis were talking.  
  
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think these were the single men." The blonde was scoffing in disgust, gesturing to where Tifa was practically giving Irvine a lap dance.  
  
Squall obviously concurred, as he nodded and looked quite nauseated. For a moment Quistis seemed to forget that Squall was another woman's (even if she was a bitchy ditz)'s man, and her light blue eyes were focused on the other pair of blue eyes belonging to him.  
  
"You know she's not going to remain faithful to you." She said quietly. Squall shrugged, pretending not to know what she was talking about.  
  
"Squall, look at me." It wasn't a command; it was a plea. He forced his gaze on her face (which, he had to admit, was quite pretty) and he felt lost in those blue eyes of hers. He had been feeling lost a lot lately.  
  
"Rinoa is not going to remain faithful to you, not with Seifer on her block list. You may be cold, Squall, but you're not naïve." Quistis said, trying to sound firm, but failing. "And it doesn't even appear to be bothering you."  
  
Marle grinned, amused. This woman wasn't using her appearance to ensnare this man, she was using her wits to raise the valid point that Squall's girlfriend was a promiscuous, bitchy airhead. Not that Quistis needed wits, as she was so beautiful. Wearing casual jean shorts and a light cerulean tank top that set off her eyes, she looked so good in them that she might as well have been wearing a designer evening gown. Marle glanced enviously at that luxurious blonde hair, which was in its trademark style with the back up and the sides hanging down. The only difference was that she had sunglasses on top of her head; the lenses tinted blue, and silver hoop earrings along with her other jewelry. She, too, was wearing sandals, only hers had platforms instead of high-heels. She was the only one in the room wearing glasses; small, oval ones that just gave her an air of intelligence and maturity.  
  
Compared to all these women who were all gorgeous in their own way, Marle felt very inferior and regretted that she had decided to come here with these particular girls. She wished Crono was here, he made her feel as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Sighing, she remembered that Crono was on that other island. They had signed up as singles because, like most of the other singles had done for the same reason, they felt it was a harder test than merely being a couple, and they wanted to prove their love for each other was deeper than physical lust.  
  
"You ok?" She looked up and saw a face that was simply beaming.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine... are you Duo?" She recognised that braid.  
  
He nodded. "You look down… what's up?"  
  
"Oh, nothing…" She sighed. "I just… well… let's just say I'm homesick."  
  
"I am, too…" He looked less happy for a minute, but it was a far cry from sadness. "Anywhere Hilde is, is home to me."  
  
Smiling at the fact that there was another faithful man on the premise, Marle decided that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all and struck up a conversation with Duo.  
  
Authors' Note: Hi guys, SporkGoddess here! Wow, the first day alone is 11 pages… hope you guys enjoyed it. ^_^ Please r/r, and there will be more coming soon! 


	3. Day 2

"Mmm… lower…" Rinoa was instructing Seifer, who was laboriously giving her a massage and wondering why he had come here in the first place. Noin fought back a wave of nausea at the girl, and turned her attentions to Quatre. She liked the boy as a friend, but… well… he just wasn't Zechs. Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to that wasn't obsessed with the hot guys on this island. Celes was playing poker with Setzer, using Skittles™ to bet with. Her musical laugh kept issuing from the wicker table they were sitting at, and Noin had the feeling that the long island iced tea sitting beside her wasn't the first one she'd had. What didn't help was that Amica and Alandra were in the room, making googly eyes at some of the guys and sipping tropical mixed drinks. If she hadn't known Amica's behavior by now, one would think she'd had too many, as she kept taking the little umbrella out of her drink, holding it above her head, and sing (in a voice that was probably very pretty when she wasn't singing in such a loud manner). "I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain! Oh what a glorious feeling, I'm singing in the rain!" But, the brandy slush beside her was only a quarter gone. 

Alandra was laughing, but acting more mature as she delicately sipped her white russian; long legs crossed as they rested on the lawn chair she was sprawled on. Amica was carrying on with her performance and doing a wonderful edition of "It's Raining Men", when Alandra finally gave up and pushed her into the pool. Amica climbed out, sputtering, and complaining about how the cute little umbrella was now wet, not caring in the least that her hair was glistening with water droplets and her sopping wet clothes stuck to her body as if it were a second skin. The guys were gawking at her, much to the chagrin of the girls. 

"You want us wet? Well, fine!" Rinoa teased as she leapt into the water. "Come on in, Seifer!" The blonde, however, just looked disdainfully at the water and shook his head. Rinoa pouted, but gave up and climbed out of the pool, not bothering to adjust her bikini top which was slipping at a much less-than-decent level. She grabbed Seifer's wrist, tugging him into the water. 

Spitting out water and cursing her, he clambered out of the water. Poor Seifer had been wearing his trademark trenchcoat over a muscle shirt and pants, and they clung to him like a wet animal's fur. His eyes were glaring at her, filled with contempt. But she was staring at him, undaunted. Suddenly, their lips met in a passionate kiss filled with such lust everyone in the room felt several degrees warmer. Rinoa, still grasping his wrist, pulled him to a private location outside the mansion in a shaded grove near a tree. She pulled him to the ground, laying underneath him. 

"Seifer… remember this…?" She was grinning like the Chesire cat. 

Fuujin. He tried desperately to picture the pretty, spunky woman he had come here to compete against. After a particularly heated fight they'd had, they had both come here to make the other jealous somehow. He wasn't really sure what Fuujin was doing, but he definitely didn't want to betray her like this. Especially not with Rinoa. 

"Yes, and frankly, I don't want to." He got off of her, wondering what the hell had possessed him to kiss that woman. He ran away, water spraying everywhere from his dripping clothes.   


  
_That asshole!_ Rinoa thought angrily, getting up and adjusting her bikini. He had gotten her so hot and left her hanging on the edge. Squall was not here… Seifer was unwilling… screw emotions, she was here to have fun and by golly, she would. 

~ 

Fuujin sat at a separate patio table, away from all the coupled guys and single girls, all by herself. This was obviously a mistake, coming here. She wasn't social to begin with, not without Seifer and Raijin, but now she was here to seduce men she wasn't interested in just because she had a fight with Seifer? 

"Damn, damn it all." Fuujin muttered under her breath. 

"Why are you cursing, woman?" Wufei asked as he was walking past her table. "I thought all the women here wanted to be here?" he asked a second question, sitting down at Fuujin's table. 

Fuujin looked up at him and simply shook her head. "Maybe them, but not me." 

"And I thought you only spoke monosyllables?" 

"No. I just choose to. Makes life easier." 

"For you." 

Fuujin grinned. "For me." 

Wufei was about to stand up and leave, to find a quiet spot to meditate, when Fuujin posed a question: "Why are you here?" 

"What, woman?" 

Fuujin repeated herself. "Why are you here? Obviously, you don't want to be." 

"Sally won a bet." 

"A bet?" 

"That's all I'll say, woman." Wufei snapped. He calmed a moment later. "Why are you here?" 

Fuujin sighed and dropped her head. "Seifer and I had a huge fight. And to spite each other, we joined here as singles. But that was a mistake, because I can't seduce if my life depended on it. He got the better end of the deal. He's so desirable. He'll be able to seduce any of the girls. Meanwhile, I'll just be sitting here, by myself, looking like a rag doll compared to some other people." she explained, eying Tifa and her constant giggles as Irvine tickled her. 

"Don't feel sorry for yourself, woman." Wufei scolded. 

Fuujin looked up, surprised. "What?" 

"It's weak to do." 

"Then what do you propose?" 

"Do what you want to do. If seducing isn't your thing, then do something that is." 

"My 'thing' was hanging out with Seifer and Raijin, both of whom aren't on this side of the island." 

Wufei didn't say a thing as he stood up, preparing to walk away again. "I'm off to meditate. You're welcome to join me if you know how." 

Fuujin smiled and stood up. "I accept your invitation." 

~ 

"A renegade, a pirate AND a prince?" Hilde giggled as she repeated what Bart just told her, "Impressive resume!" 

"So, want to be a princess?" Bart joked, grinning.   


  
Sally watched their exchange with amusement. Sephiroth noted this. "What's so funny?" 

Sally turned around and chuckled slightly. "Well, from the introductions Hilde and her boyfriend had, I would've expected her to have shunned all these single guys." 

"I'm sure she's just being friendly." 

"One never knows." Sally commented, sipping her fruit cocktail. "In fact, one can never be certain about anything on this island." Sally said, noticing Seifer walking back from where he and Rinoa disappeared too. They were gone for too short of a time for anything to have happened. So, why was he back? 

Sephiroth, following her gaze, noticed Seifer's return too. But what he hadn't noticed was Rinoa sneaking up behind him and slipping her arms around him. 

"So, big boy, how about you and me?" Rinoa whispered into his ear. 

Sally abruptly turned and stared at Rinoa in shock. Not 5 minutes ago, she was passionately kissing Seifer. Now she was hanging onto Sephiroth so tightly, it would've taken a Gundam to pry her arms apart. 

"Uh…" was all Sephiroth managed to stutter out, partially due to Rinoa's oxygen restricting grip. 

"He's flattered but spoken for." Sally explained to Rinoa. 

Rinoa glared at Sally. "Don't you want to respect your boyfriend's wishes? He's blocked from you." Rinoa retorted bitterly, eyeing Sephiroth's bracelet. 

"I could ask you the same thing." Sally calmly replied, not even bothering to mention Seifer's name. 

Rinoa glared at Sally once more then backed off and left the pair. 

Sephiroth sweatdropped. "I thank you." 

Sally smiled and shrugged and sipped her fruit cocktail once more.   


  
_The nerve of that Sally._ Rinoa thought angrily. She really needed a guy right now… Seifer always made her in such a lusty mood. Fortunately, she ran into a very tipsy Crono. 

"Crono…. You're so strong…" Rinoa cooed, latching onto the spiky-haired man's arm. Normally Crono would have edged away, but he was too busy laughing at the funny shape of his feet to care. "Come with me, tiger…" She purred as she pulled him into her bedroom. He stumbled after her, falling several times. Latching him into a slobbery French kiss, they fell onto the bed.   


  
Crono's eyes fluttered open. _My head…_ Suddenly, he realized he wasn't wearing any clothes. _Uh oh._ Then he felt something soft. Looking, he saw silky black hair caressing his skin. _Wait a minute… Marle has red hair…Oh shit._   


  
When Rinoa emerged from the bedroom, her hair was tousled and she felt great. The sun had set by now, and she noticed the girls were all gathered around Amica who looked like she was explaining something. Rinoa quickly smoothed out her outfit and ran to where all the girls were standing. 

"… this way, you can see what your boyfriend has been doing. But keep in mind, he'll see what you've been doing too." Amica explained. She smirked as she saw Rinoa join the group, "Good evening, Rinoa." Rinoa just waved. "We're talking about the bonfire tonight." 

"Bonfire?" 

Amica's shoulder's sagged, having just explained the entire procedure a moment ago. "It's simple, you sit around the bonfire and get to see videos of what your boyfriend has done so far. Of course, he gets to see what you've done too." Amica explained all in one breath. 

Rinoa looked blank for a second. She then realized what this would mean. "Oh… oh… oh… crap." 

"So, let's get going! I want to see what Duo's been up to!" chirped Hilde. 

Amica smiled and nodded. "Let's go." 

~ 

Alandra carefully stood up on the patio table to try and get everyone's attention. 

"Table dancing, hot stuff?" Irvine asked, grinning lecherously, even though he still had Tifa on his lap. 

Alandra merely sweatdropped. "Uh… no. Something better though! I have an announcement!" Eventually, everyone was gathered around the table. "Well, tonight shall be the first bonfire." 

Confused murmurs passed throughout the group. 

"Tonight, you get to see what your girlfriends have done so far. Of course, keep in mind, they get to see what you've done so far too." 

The colour suddenly drained from Edgar and Irvine's faces. 

"And as an added treat, all the singles get to see everything that's transpired." 

Fuujin got a worried look on her face. Would Seifer mistake what had happened between her and Wufei as something more than mere acquaintanceship? 

"Everyone ready?" 

Squall stood up from where he and Quistis were sitting. "Ready." 

Alandra smiled and nodded. "Let's go." 

~ 

Amica sat on one side of the bonfire, while the girls sat on the other side. Everyone looked nervous, unsure what to expect of their boyfriends, but Rinoa was a wreck. She wasn't thinking about what Squall had been doing. She was more worried about what Squall would see her doing. 

Amica smiled cheerfully and held up the remote. "Is everyone ready?" 

Each girl nodded. 

Amica pointed the remote at the TV/VCR, carefully balanced on a tree stump, and pressed play. Each girl watched in silence. 

Noin's expression went sour as she saw Tifa make a move on Zechs. But that changed once she realized Zechs wasn't interested. In fact, she smiled. Then she frowned again when she saw Schala being friendly with him. _Can't win 'em all…_

Selphie screeched. "Why is that hussy on his lap?! And why is he grinning like that?!" Everyone just sweatdropped. 

Terra fumed as she watched Edgar stare at every single girl. She kept reminding herself this was a test and this was only the first day, to try and calm herself down. But that failed miserably when she watched Edgar pull Relena onto his lap. 

"They're getting along pretty well…" Celes icily remarked as she watched Locke and Rachel interact. 

Rinoa was still worrying about what Squall would see, until she saw him and Quistis sitting together, happily chatting. Instantly, all traces of worry disappeared from her and were replaced with anger. _I'm not going to be faithful? How would she know?! She shouldn't!_

Hilde melted as she heard what Duo said on the TV. "I love you, Shinigami." she mouthed to the TV. Then she frowned as he and Marle started happily chatting. 

Sally watched the TV calmly. _Meditation? Okay, that's fine. I trust you, Dragon._

Amica turned the TV off and faced the girls. "Any final comments?" 

No one said anything. 

"We're going to be having numerous bonfires throughout this ordeal. No point in being shy." 

Hilde spoke up: "I'm sorry to you all whose boyfriends have behaved less than ideally. But, remember, they're here to be tempted." 

No one else spoke, some too upset to. 

"Well, that concludes tonight's bonfire. Between now and our next bonfire, you'll be given an opportunity to send a video message to your boyfriend. So, think about what you want to say." Amica explained. 

All the girls nodded. 

~ 

Alandra sat on one side of the bonfire, while the guys sat on the other side. Irvine was gripping his cowboy hat tightly, praying to Hyne that Selphie would forgive him. Edgar was similarly praying to the Goddesses that Terra would show some mercy next time he saw her. 

"Ready to begin?" Alandra asked. 

Everyone nodded. 

Alandra knew it would be rough, and pressed play on the remote. 

"That IS pretty devious." Duo commented, repeating Hilde's response to the well planned out dinner. 

Zechs merely nodded, really fearing nothing from Quatre. In fact, he had nothing to fear at all. He trusted Noin as much as she trusted him. 

"Skittles? I could steal the entire rainbow for her!" Locke heroically declared. 

Duo's expression dropped. He had blocked his Hilde from a renegade pirate prince? Wasn't he just asking for trouble? _Stay true to me, my Goddess of Death…_

Edgar felt like scum. Here he was, pulling girls onto his lap, while all Terra had done was eat dinner and spend the rest of the night talking with Treize and Selphie. Irvine had felt just as bad. He could imagine Selphie's reaction. In fact, didn't that high-pitched screech sound just like Selphie? 

_Woman, do you like him? You were protecting him. Damn._ Wufei thought to himself. 

Squall watched the TV in stunned silence. The initial dinner was enough to unnerve him. But then a massage, jumping into a pool, a passionate kiss, running off somewhere? And then returning, only to try and get someone else? Finally, as if to twist the knife in his heart, drag someone into her bedroom? Without saying anything, Squall stood up and left. 

Alandra stopped the video once it was at the end and sweatdropped. "Any comments?" 

"That's tough, Squall--- wait, where did he go?" Edgar asked. 

"He left." Alandra answered. 

"Man, that's got to be heartbreaking." Duo said, stating the obvious. 

Alandra merely nodded. "Well, could someone kindly pass on this message to Squall? Between now and the next bonfire, you'll all be given a chance to send a video message to your girlfriends. So, think about what you want to say to them. Bonfire is adjourned." 

~ 

Squall was sitting there, motionless. All of the guys and single girls (they had watched the videos, too) sat around him, unsure of what to say. He was silent for a long time, and then he spoke: "Is Quistis around?" 

He felt his grief lift slightly as the pretty blonde stepped forward. 

"I'm here, Squall." She put an arm around him in a somewhat-awkward gesture of sympathy. The other single girls nearby rolled their eyes at her pathetic attempt at 'seduction.' She glared at them, and continued to hold him. 

Meanwhile, Marle was sobbing uncontrollably a distance away from Squall. "T…that…bastard!" She cried out, punching the closest object to her. Fortunately, it was Tifa, and no harm done there. 

"Come on, Marle… it's ok…" Schala tried to comfort her. "You're a lot prettier than Rinoa." 

"And a princess!" Aerith added. 

"And we all know by now that Rinoa's just a slut!" Margie added, secretly glad that Bart hadn't done anything like that, but hiding it for Marle's sake. 

"He's not worth crying over!" Everyone turned at the sight of a braided man. 

"Hi Duo…" Marle mumbled. He sat next to her and draped an arm around her trembling shoulders. 

"Come on, don't cry over that loser. He's just doing his job, and he WAS drunk." 

Marle sniffled. "Just doing his job? I haven't done anyone yet, thank you!" 

"And do you want to?" 

Marle stared at him. "Is that an offer to LAY me? I thought you were different, Duo!" 

"I didn't…" Duo started, but it was too late. 

"Men! You're all the same! Faithless bastards who can't keep it in their pants!" Marle spat out the sentence as if it tasted vile. She got up, shrugging off Duo's embrace, and ran away. 

~ 

"Amica, this isn't good. The singles are supposed to encourage affairs, not discourage them!" Alandra was saying from their spot on the beach, away for once from the cameras. 

Amica rolled her eyes. "This is by the far the most interesting HOUND show ever. Leave it be, Alandra!" 

"Tell me again why we took this job?" 

"For money, and a chance to tan," Amica repeated, frowning. 

"We want to keep it, don't we?" 

"But we don't want to sacrifice our morals just for a little bit of money," Amica sighed. 

Alandra couldn't remember ever having seen her so serious. "Are you drunk?" 

Amica threw up her arms in defeat. "Whatever. Let's just see how this goes." 

~ 

Meanwhile, the girls were having little cry-fests of their own. 

"I… t…thought he'd changed!" Selphie wailed. 

"I should have listened to Katarina! Never hook up with a guy with longer hair than me!" Terra sobbed. 

"Offering her friendship… my ass!" Hilde grumbled. 

"I knew it! I knew I couldn't dare to compete with Rachel!" Celes sighed. 

"What was she doing, talking to him?" Sally was laughing. "Poor girl will never hear the end of it now!" 

"Schala is awfully pretty…" Noin noted quietly, but she wasn't really jealous. She just couldn't help but notice. 

"Come on, guys. It's our job to cheer them up." Zell was saying. 

"Screw this." Seifer mumbled. The thought of Fuujin talking to that Chinese guy was still emblazoned into his brain. 

Crono just sat there, even more silent than usual. 

"I don't think we're all up to it…" Quatre noted. The others shot him grateful looks. 

But Zell persisted, and finally the guys got up to go comfort the girls. 

Terra was sobbing from the circle of Treize's arms. He winced slightly at the tears staining his expensive clothes, but shrugged it off. 

Selphie was clutching onto Zell's muscular chest like it was a buoy in the ocean. "Zell… how could he?" Selphie cried. 

Zell kissed the top of her head. "He's a fool, Sefie." Selphie only cried harder, at the use of the nickname Irvine would call her. 

~ 

Squall and Quistis had walked off to a secluded area on the beach, away from people, lights and cameras. Together, they sat in a hammock, gently swinging. 

"Are you okay, Squall?" Quistis softly asked. 

Squall stared down at the sand and didn't reply. 

Quistis smiled at him. "Remember, I can figure out what you're thinking." 

Squall looked up at her and into her eyes. He tried to smile and blink away his forming tears, but Quistis had already seen them. 

"Oh… Squall… I'm sorry." Quistis whispered, moving to wipe away the one tear that had escaped from his eyes. 

Squall caught her hand before she could reach and softly kissed the fingertips. "Quisty…" he softly whispered her name, as he leaned in to kiss her. 

~ 

Wufei screamed in rage as he kicked the same tree for the fifth time. "Spoken for? Spoken for? What's the suppose to mean, woman?!" 

Fuujin tentatively approached him. "Wufei?" 

Wufei instantly spun around and glared at her. "What do you want, woman?" 

"Just to see how you are." 

"You saw the video too. How do you think I am?" 

"Angry. Upset. Pissed off." 

"Something like that." Wufei muttered, turning around to kick the tree again. Finally satisfied, he turned to face Fuujin and sat down on the ground. "Your boyfriend did some shitty things too. How are you?" 

"My boyfriend?" Fuujin repeated. 

"Seifer?" 

Fuujin sighed. "Ex. My ex-boyfriend." 

"Regardless." 

"Well, I hope that bleach in her hair sinks through to her head." 

Wufei laughed. 

~ 

Quistis' eyes flew open for a minute. _Am I…are Squall and I…? OH MY GOD!_ The kiss seemed to last forever, but finally they broke apart. 

"Quisty…" Well, at least he was talking now. He hesitated, as if afraid to say more, but finally cleared his throat and said: "I'm going to break up with her." 

"What?" 

"You heard me. I'm going to break up with her once with this is over." 

"Are you sure?" Quistis fully supported this, but Squall wasn't very emotionally-strong in the romance field. 

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life…" He leaned over, and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. She felt her face tingle with the intimate gesture, and wondered when she'd be waking up from this.   


  
"Marle!" Duo was frantically racing around the hallway, looking for her. 

"Go away." He stopped at a corner, where she was huddled like a child. 

"Come on, princess…. You know I didn't mean that. You're just taking out your frustrations on Crono on me." 

Marle couldn't respond to that, since she knew he was right. Finally, her eyes brimmed with tears. "I'm sorry…" She managed to get out as she fell into his arms. 

"Marle… I'll hold you if that's what you want, but…" 

He regretted that statement as she recoiled harshly. "But you love Hilde too much, huh? Well, Crono loved me just like you loved Hilde, and he found it within himself to FUCK SOMEONE ELSE!" 

"He was drunk!" 

"Don't defend him!" Marle was almost screaming now. 

Duo ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "Get a hold of yourself!" 

"Oh, I'll get a hold of myself!" Marle hoisted herself up and clumsily ran away, one of her high heeled shoes coming off in the process. Running along clumsily with only one shoe and the other not quite reaching the ground because of it, she reached for the nearest piña colada. 

"He got drunk, you say? Well, if I get drunk I can go fuck someone else, too!" She downed the drink in one gulp. Duo merely stared. 

She reached for another. "He can cheat on me because he wasn't in the right frame of mind, you say? Well, I'm going to get into the wrong frame of mind so I can cheat, too!" 

"Don't sink to his level!" Duo pleaded, but it was too late. The contents of the glass disappeared inside her mouth, again in one gulp. 

She picked up another and downed it again. 

"Marle, you're going to get alcohol poisoning!" Duo cried. "Don't be stupid!" 

"I'll be shupid if I wantsh!" She gulped down another. 

"NO!" Duo could see she was already starting to sway, but she shoved another one down. What number was this… Duo counted 5, and sighed. 

"Du…. Your eyesh are so… .big!" She laughed as if she'd just told a great joke, and then collapsed onto the floor. Duo glanced around, then picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. He'd stay with her until she reached consciousness. 

~ 

Zell and Treize were still holding Selphie and Terra, murmuring kind words to them, and harsh words about their philandering boyfriends.   


  
Crono was on his 5th bowl of ice cream. Normally a guy would be drinking alcohol in this situation, but he'd had enough trouble with the stuff as it was. 

"Look at you, Crono…" Bart was shaking his head, his braid swaying with the motion. 

"Pretty pathetic." Sephiroth laughed. 

"Leave him alone." Seifer sighed. 

"Yeah, leave him alone!" Quatre echoed, tears glistening in his eyes at the thought of Crono's grief. 

"…." Cloud, as usual, didn't know what to say. 

Sabin had a hand on Crono's shoulder, and was shaking his head. 

Crono missed Marle like he'd miss a vital body organ. He had to see her… to make things right… but he couldn't.   


  
*Authors' Notes: Jeokitty here. I get to do the notes this time. ^^; So, things are certainly heating up, huh?  
For people who actually watch the show, the one major difference between the show and this fic comes out in this instalment; the coupled people can spend time alone with the single they were blocked from. It spiced things up. Aaaaand… frankly, it was for drama purposes, and for… well, our own personal tastes of who should be with who, despite the extremely weird pairs that'll be coming up soon. But, back to the blocks: they still can't 'date' though. And the date is coming up soon, on Day 4. 

Also, for Rinoa fans… heh… sorry… some [read: a lot] of bashing here. Don't worry though… I do somewhat like Rinoa. She'll redeem herself… maybe. ;) 

Anyways… r/r, please! We like reviews! We really do! 


	4. Day 3

Day 3  
  
The next morning, Marle's eyes fluttered open. She saw Duo laying next to her. Shit… did we…? Then, she realized she had her original clothes still on. Phew. She was about to sit up, but a pounding headache stopped her. The last thing she remembered was downing piña coladas like any expert boozehound, and Duo pleading with her not to. She must have gotten completely smashed, and Duo must have stayed with her… why was the guy so sweet, and so…. Taken? He loved Hilde with all his heart, he just saw her as a friend. She sighed, and hoisted herself up off the bed.  
  
~  
  
The hostesses were dressed differently today; Alandra was wearing white jean shorts that left almost nothing to the imagination with a brightly-colored tank top and the same white high-heeled sandals. Her glossy blue hair was up in a ponytail. Amica appeared to be unable to go a day without sparkling somehow; her shorts were normal short jean shorts, but dusted with glitter. With them she wore an equally tawdry tube top covered in brightly colored flowers that were accentuated with fake gems. The top showed off a good portion of her toned stomach. She, too, wore her white high-heeled sandals, along with her usual myriad of jewellery, and the many earrings encrusted in her ears. Her hair was pulled back with sunglasses with lenses tinted pale rose. She was missing her usual happy aura, perhaps because it was so early in the morning.  
  
"Alright," Amica ran a hand through her silken hair, stifling a yawn. "You are the girls, right?" She squinted off into the distance, then nodded as if to reaffirm her declaration.  
  
Alandra looked a little more alert, but not much. "We'll give you the video camera, and you say your message. It can be as long as you like, but if you babble on and on we will cut you off. Got it?"  
  
The others nodded.  
  
"Ok… who goes first?" Amica yawned.  
  
Selphie timidly raised her hand.  
  
"Ok, go." Alandra waved a dainty hand.  
  
Selphie stared into the camera as if it had eyes, a mouth, and a cowboy hat. "I loved you. You knew that, didn't you? Of course you did. And yet… you hurt me. You hurt me in ways unimaginable. It makes me want to cry, but I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of that. Irvine Kinneas, change or else…. Or else… it's over." She ran out of the view of the camera, where Zell enveloped her into his embrace.  
  
~  
  
"Oh man…" Irvine felt sick at seeing that on the TV screen.  
  
"Next one," Alandra said, playing the tape again. Noin was on the screen.  
  
"Zechs, I trust you, and I don't really have anything to say other that I love you, and I miss you… and someone else needs this chance to say something more than I do." She reached off screen and pushed a trembling figure into the view of the camera. Marle felt her heart plummet as she saw Crono.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Marle… I know that doesn't fix what I did." He gulped. "But what I did, I would never have done while I was in the right frame of mind. I swear…. I would never hurt you. I'm so sorry, Marle… I love you…" He looked right at the camera, and Marle felt so affected that she had to look away. "Please, princess…" Marle flushed at his nickname for her, "Forgive me… please…"  
  
Marle felt tears flood her eyes, and Duo hugged her. They were still friends even after he had seen her at her worst, and for that she was grateful. And now she was just confused.  
  
Alandra looked starry-eyed, but resumed the tape. It was Rinoa.  
  
"Turn it off." Squall growled. Quistis was next to him, and she put an arm around him in a supportive way.  
  
Alandra glanced at him.  
  
"I said, turn it off."  
  
"Give her a chance, Squall." Quistis whispered.  
  
"Fine."  
  
Rinoa sighed. "Squally, I have nothing to say."  
  
Everyone rolled their eyes, and the tape resumed as Hilde came on.  
  
"I love you, Shinigami, and I miss you!" Duo smiled broadly, and Marle felt her fists clench.  
  
The tape resumed, and Terra was on the screen.  
  
"I can't believe I trusted you. Never in my life have I been so let down. General Leo would never have done this to me. I can't believe you… I hate you!" She ran off the screen. Edgar was stunned, and felt quite nauseous.  
  
Alandra was motionless for a little, then put the tape back on.  
  
Celes was standing there. "Locke, you were a little too comfy with Rachel for my taste. I'm not mad, but I'm warning you…" She got that glint in her eye that reminded him of that war-hardened general, and he gulped. She glared once more and stalked off the camera.  
  
"Hey, Wufei!" Sally sounded as if she were meeting him by a chance encounter instead of on a video camera when it was next turned on. "I kind of miss your insane ranting about justice and Nataku, you know! Don't scare the other women too much!"  
  
She casually strolled off, grinning. Wufei rolled his eyes. "The woman isn't even the least bit jealous."  
  
~  
  
Meanwhile, the girls were just starting the messages from the guys.  
  
Amica had woken up during the rest of the day, and was radiating happiness. She pressed play on the VCR.  
  
It was Zechs. "I miss you, Lu. Stay faithful, I trust you." He walked off, looking very dignified. Noin was glowing.  
  
The next one was Squall. Rinoa didn't look very good, everyone noted.  
  
"Rinoa, I swore to be your knight. But little did I know you'd end up stabbing me in the back like this. At this point, there's no chance in hell I'll stay with you. I can't believe I trusted you in the first place." He walked off, and Rinoa trembled.  
  
Duo came on next. "I miss you, Hilde, and I want you to know that whatever you may see at the next bonfire is not what you think… Marle and I are just friends, nothing has happened between us. I love you, and Marle wants to say something to Crono." He led a quivering figure on, her hair hanging loosely amidst her tear-stained cheeks, and Crono felt his heart wrench. He buried his face in his hands.  
  
"Crono, I tried my hardest… but I just can't hate you. … I can't help it. I will eventually forgive you, but… not yet. I need time, or something…" She broke off, about to cry. Her voice kept breaking as she continued: "You hurt me so much… even if you were drunk, it still hurt like hell… and even when I do forgive you, nothing will ever be the same again." She looked like she was about to run off, but kept her dignity and walked off with her head held high.  
  
Crono wished someone would stab him right then and there.  
  
Irvine was next. "Sefie, there's no condoning what I did. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I'll change, I promise. Please give me one chance… I can do it, with your love and guidance… just don't give up on me. I need you, I'm lost without you…" He left the view of the camera. Selphie's eyes filled with tears.  
  
Edgar appeared after Irvine. "I'm sorry, Terra…. If you want me to be a one-woman man, I'll do it. For you, I could do anything." Terra sighed, looking torn.  
  
Locke appeared. "Celes, I love you and I miss you. You're the light of my life, and I don't know what I'd do without you." Celes beamed, smiling from ear to ear.  
  
Next was Wufei.  
  
"Woman, what are you playing at? 'He's spoken for.' What the hell is that supposed to mean? This is such injustice! Stay faithful to me, woman, or else! Oh, and someone has a message for someone else."  
  
Fuujin appeared on the camera, and Seifer looked up. "Seifer… just seeing you with that slut-" "HEY!" interrupted Rinoa"- "Tore my heart out. I miss you… and I want you back. I don't even remember what we broke up over, but whatever it was I'm sorry. I just… I need you back."  
  
The TV turned off. "Alright," Amica said, "The first date is tomorrow. Be on your best behavior, I'd suggest. The heat is on enough as it is!"  
  
~  
  
Duo took a swig of his old fashioned whiskey sour, and looked around. He hadn't seen Marle at all ever since last night at the video showing. Then, he heard female voices talking:  
  
"Poor girl… she's been as pale as a statue ever since seeing Crono."  
  
"Hasn't moved from that corner she likes to sit in… odd for a princess, huh?"  
  
"She's torn on the inside…. Apparently she doesn't know what to think anymore."  
  
Duo walked over to the source of the voices. "Where is she?"  
  
Margie pointed to a corner, where Marle's huddled form was hidden by the darkness.  
  
Duo thanked her and walked over to Marle. "Marle?"  
  
Marle turned around and faced Duo, her back wedged into the corner. "Hi…"  
  
"Come on, princess…" Duo whispered, offering her his hand, "Let's go get some ice cream."  
  
"Okay…" Marle agreed, grabbing Duo's hand and pulling herself up.  
  
~  
  
"He sounded mad at you." Sephiroth said, handing Sally a drink and sitting down beside her.  
  
"He always sounds like that." Sally casually replied.  
  
Sephiroth laughed. "You deserve much better than that."  
  
Sally turned and looked at Sephiroth seriously for a moment. She didn't say anything, stood up and walked away.  
  
"Oh crap." Sephiroth muttered.  
  
Sally sat down, as far from Sephiroth as she could manage. After saving him from Rinoa, he had the nerve to suggestion that Wufei wasn't good enough for her. That was certainly insulting. She cared for Wufei and wouldn't stand for him being insulted.  
  
"Problems?"  
  
Sally looked to the direction of the voice. It was Cloud. "Minor."  
  
"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, concerned.  
  
Sally smiled. "Nothing too important. Just a bad comment."  
  
"Don't take comments too seriously. At least not from Sephiroth." Cloud advised, then changing the topic, "So, how are you liking the island so far?"  
  
"It's a nice vacation."  
  
"And your boyfriend? He looked pretty pissed off."  
  
"I'm sure he's enjoying himself too. The island has lots of quiet spots he can meditate."  
  
"And you don't care that he invited some girl to meditate with him? Isn't there some ulterior meaning there?"  
  
Sally shook her head. "When he says meditation, he means meditation. And I trust him."  
  
Cloud nodded, not sure if he would be as trusting, and returned to his silent state.  
  
~  
  
Edgar sat at a patio table, all by himself, moping and sipping a Coke. He had decided upon no more talking to women and no more alcohol. Because alcohol lowered inhibitions, lowered inhibitions meant flirting with other women, and flirting with other women meant losing Terra. He cared too much for Terra to lose her just because he was drunk. The entire island learned what could happen when someone is drunk. He was too into his own thoughts to notice someone sit down across from him.  
  
"So, King Edgar Figaro." Dorothy started.  
  
Edgar's head shot up, surprised at the unnoticed company.  
  
Dorothy grinned. "A king must fight to defend his country, right? Tell me, have you ever fought any interesting battles?"  
  
Edgar grinned, his ego momentarily overtaking his vow of no more women. "Well, I did fight a few glorious battles."  
  
"Oh, do share." Dorothy encouraged.  
  
1.1 Authors' Note: SporkGoddess here! So, there's day 3. It was rather short, but the best part's coming up! ^_^ 


	5. Day 4

Day 4

Alandra walked through the hall in front of the bedrooms, banging on all the doors. "Rise and shine! Today's the day for the first date!"

Her only reply was grumbles of more sleep and hangovers.

"If you don't get up, you don't get a date today and you don't get to be at the bonfire tomorrow night!" Alandra threatened. Feeling that did the trick, as the grumbles stopped and were replaced by the sound of shuffling people quickly getting dressed, she strolled to the dining room, where the single girls already were, eating breakfast. "Good morning. I'm glad that everyone's here. Now we just need to wait for the men to hurry up so we can commence the date selection." And as if on cue, the coupled guys walked into the room."So, why are we up so early?" Duo mumbled, grabbing a bagel and sitting down beside Marle.

"It's 10 o'clock in the morning, Maxwell." Wufei pointed out.

Duo yawned, "Exactly." Marle giggled beside him.

"Well, Duo," Alandra began, "You're up early so you can choose your partners for your dates today."

Duo nearly choked on his bagel. "Dates?!"

Alandra sweatdropped. "Yes… dates."

Duo looked around the room. "Did you all know there were dates?!"

Everyone nodded.

"Ah, crap." Duo muttered, sinking down into his seat.

"Didn't you read the rules of this game, sent to you before arriving here, Duo?"

"Rules…?" Duo repeated. Didn't Hilde say something about rules to him, while they were packing? Didn't he stop listening when he abruptly finished packing and decided upon a last-minute romp, before the cab was to get to their house? "Crap."

"So, Duo won't go first. Well, everyone, finish breakfast first, and we'll choose dates out by the pool." Alandra said, grabbing an apple and walking out to sit by the pool and wait. She sat down on a lawn chair and bit into her apple. The game was just about to get much more interesting. 

~ 

Amica stood outside the living quarters with a huge megaphone in her hand, and a French vanilla cappuccino in the other. She grinned to herself and quietly turned it on. "**RISE AND SHINE!**" she screamed into the megaphone. Yells were heard inside the building, along with the sounds of people falling out of bed and such. "**All participants are required to get out of bed and get their butts to breakfast. Then to report to the pool for the first date selections. That is all. I would also like to add that I like bacon. Peace out!**" 

~ 

"The order of who gets to select a date first will be the same order in which you put blocks for your girlfriends." Alandra explained, after everyone had finished breakfast and gathered out by the pool. "So, Squall, you're first. But, keep in mind, you can't choose the person you're blocked from."

Squall nodded as he stood up and started walking towards Quistis, but then stopped mid-step as he realized the bracelet colour on her wrist. "Ah, fu—" He turned around and faced Alandra, "I'd like to be last to choose."

Alandra nodded. "That's fine."

Squall sat down, frowning.

"Locke?"

"I'll need some more time here." Locke replied, realizing the only person he'd talked to so far was Rachel.

"Zechs?"

"And I have to do this, right?" Zechs asked.

"Right."

"Very well." Zechs said, standing up and walking over to Schala. He took her hand and gently kissed it.

Alandra smiled. "Next. Duo?"

"Ah, man." Duo muttered.

"Duo?"

Duo stood up and dragged himself over to where the single girls were sitting. He stood in front of Marle and offered her his hand. She took it, stood up and kissed him on the cheek. Duo blushed.

"Irvine, you're next."

"Crap." Irvine cursed, taking off his cowboy hat and gripping it tightly. He slowly walked over to the single girls and frown. "Oh, boy." As he was trying to make his choice, a choice that wouldn't get Selphie mad at him, he noticed Tifa winking at him. "But… but… Selphie," he mouthed to Tifa. She blew a kiss at him in reply. "Okay," he mumbled dejectedly to himself as she walked over to Tifa and took her hand.

"Edgar, you're up."

Edgar nodded, standing up and walking over to Dorothy. "Wilt m'lady grant me the honour of thy presence upon this date?"

Dorothy smirked. "Of course, m'lord."

"Wufei. Your turn."

Wufei silently stood up and walked over to Fuujin, saying nothing. Fuujin chuckled.

"Locke, are you ready now?" Alandra asked.

"Sure." Locke said, standing up and walking over. He thought for a second, then knelt down in front of Quistis and kissed her hand. Squall looked ready to kill.

"Uh… Squall, your turn."

Squall glared at Locke as he walked over to Rachel.

"Great! All the choices are made. Once I get the call from Amica, we'll tell you where you're going on your dates." Her phone then rang, almost if on cue. 

~ 

"Glad to see everyone here." Amica said, smirking.

"Great wake up call…" Bart grumbled.

"I thought so myself!" Amica replied, laughing. She then retained her composure and continued with what she had to do. "Now, today is the first date and thus, the first date selections. It'll be easier in the future. Maybe we'll even do it the night before."

"And why didn't we do that last night?" Setzer asked.

Amica shrugged. "Anyways, I'm trusting you all read the rules… unlike someone on the men's island…" Amica commented, slyly grinning at Hilde, because she had gotten a phone call from Alandra, explaining how Duo didn't even know there were dates.

Hilde sweatdropped. "But I tried to read the rules to him. He just didn't listen."

Amica giggled. "Anyways, the order of date selections will be the same order as when you put blocks for your boyfriends. Meaning, Rinoa, you're first."

Rinoa confidently stood up. She grinned in an almost predatory fashion as she sat down on Treize's lap. Treize resisted all urges to push her off.

"Celes, you're next."

Celes nodded and thought over it carefully. Since she was blocked from Setzer, the only guy she'd spoken to so far, she had to go for pure physical attraction, and stopped in front of Bart. "Hi," she said, smiling at him.

"Hey." Bart replied, smiling back.

"Noin, your turn."

"Hrm… this is tough." Noin commented, walking in front of the sitting, single guys.

"Why not choose a Zechs look-alike, Noin?" Sally joked.

"I'll take you up on that." Noin said, stopping in front of Sephiroth.

Sally laughed.

"Hilde?"

"Ready!" she said, standing up and walking directly to Zell. "Hi!"

Zell smiled. "Hi."

Selphie pouted slightly, until Amica told her it was her turn. She really didn't know who to choose, so on a random whim, she sat down next to Setzer.

"Terra, it's your turn."

Terra shyly stood up and looked amongst the guys. She hadn't talked to any of them, except for Treize and she wasn't allowed to choose him. So, she chose Sabin, since she already knew him.

"Last, but not least, Sally."

Sally stood up and carefully considered. "Well, since I already spoke to him yesterday…" she started to say, but didn't bother finishing, as she offered her hand to Cloud.

"Perfect! We're done! Now, to check to see if Alandra and the guys are done. If so, we'll announce where you're all going on your dates!" Amica said, taking out her cell phone. 

~ 

Alandra answered her cell phone. "You guys ready?" Amica replied on the other end. "Perfect." Alandra pulled the phone away from her ear, Amica still on the line, and smiled at the group. "Everything's all set."

"So, what's our date going to be?" Duo asked.

"Well, it's going to be a group date, first of all. Just so it's not too awkward."

Murmurs of approval were heard.

"And it's going to be a yacht ride, with a full buffet for lunch."

Cheers were heard.

"What about the girls' dates? What are they doing?" Edgar asked.

"Why, the exact same thing, but on a different yacht." Alandra explained.

"On a different body of water too, right?" Irvine asked, worried.

Alandra grinned. "Nope."

"Crap." 

~ 

"On the same body of water? Are you crazy?!" Rinoa yelled.

"I think it's a cute idea!" Hilde happily said.

"That's cause you're still on good terms with your boyfriend." Rinoa retorted.

"Well, that's the date. There's no changing it." Amica firmly said. "Anyway, it's time to get ready. You all have 15 minutes to get dressed for a yacht ride and bring anything necessary, like sombreros!"

Everyone stared at her, but she appeared not to notice. "Well, if you're not the hat type… you could bring sunscreen or something. Oh yeah, you'll also need to bring a formal outfit; a dress or a tuxedo for tonight with shoes and accessories." 

~ 

"15 minutes. That's all you have. Or else I'll personally come and drag you onto the yacht!" Alandra warned. 

~ 

"Oooh, the yacht is so pretty." Selphie commented, standing on the dock along with everyone else as the yacht approached.

"Indeed it is." Setzer agreed. "Shall we board, m'lady?" he asked, holding out his arm for her.

Selphie giggled and hooked her arm through Setzer's. "Okay!"

In pairs, the couples all boarded the yacht, Amica boarding with them. The yacht took off towards the endless horizon, floating upon the crystal blue water. 

~ 

"This is cruel, Alandra." Irvine whined.

"Why do you say that?" Alandra asked.

"Selphie's right there! She can see me and I can see her. Except she's not acknowledging me…"

"Well, you aren't here to talk to your girlfriend. You're here to go on a nice yacht ride with your date. Besides, you aren't suppose to be communicating with her at all!"

"Yeah… but… look at that!" Irvine said, pointing to Selphie who had just hooked her arm through Setzer's, "This is torture."

Tifa took it as a cue, and latched onto Irvine's arm. "It's okay, Irvine. I'm here to keep you company."

"Alright, alright. Time to board the yacht." 

~ 

"This is so awkward." Noin sighed to Sephiroth. The silver-haired man nodded, sipping his martini.

"But, of course, there's nothing we can do about it." Sephiroth pointed out.

"Right."

"Why are you here anyways? You don't seem like the type who would even bother to test yourself."

"Treize talked Zechs into it." Noin muttered.

Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh. "On the bright side, he's getting his just desserts for bringing this predicament upon you."

Noin followed his gaze and spotted Rinoa hanging all over Treize, trying to feed him a cherry. "I almost feel bad for him."

"I do feel bad for him." Sephiroth replied.

Noin chuckled. 

~ 

Edgar sat beside the railing, staring at the other yacht. "She's with my brother."

"Who?" Dorothy asked.

"Terra."

"Your girlfriend is with your brother?"

Edgar nodded, groaning as he dropped his head.

"How terrible, Sir Edgar." Dorothy said.

"Yeah…" Edgar muttered, turning away from the railing and leaned against it.

"Champagne?" Dorothy offered, abruptly changing the topic.

Edgar took the glass from Dorothy and took a sip. "Mmm… this is sweet champagne."

"Is it?"

Edgar nodded and offered Dorothy a sip. Dorothy gently took the champagne glass from Edgar's hand, her fingers lingering atop his for a moment. She took a delicate sip, carefully licked her lips, then returned the glass into Edgar's hands. "That is sweet."

Edgar smiled and took another sip from his champagne, trying to forget that his girlfriend was with his brother. 

~ 

"Are you having fun so far, Terra?" Sabin asked, handing her a plate.

"Not really." Terra glumly replied.

"Cause of Edgar or cause there's no guys worthy of Princess Terra here?" Sabin said jokingly.

Terra giggled and slapped Sabin on the arm. "I'm not a Princess."

"Right. You'll be more than that when you and Ed tie the knot."

Terra frowned slightly. "If this thing doesn't screw us up."

"I'm sure you two will be fine. I look forward to having you has my sister-in-law and the Queen to my kingdom."

Terra smiled. "Thanks, Sabin." 

~ 

Squall pushed Locke against the wall. "What the hell are you planning, Cole?"

Locke pushed back, getting some breathing room. "What are you talking about, Squall?"

Quistis tried to calm Squall down, but he only gently pushed her to the side. "I'm talking about choosing my girl for this date."

"Your girl?" Locke repeated, "Don't forget… 'your girl' is on the other yacht, not here, standing beside you. Standing beside you is your block."

"That's beside the point!" Squall yelled.

"Squall… Squall… please stop…" Quistis quietly pleaded.

"Fine." Squall snapped, turning and walking away from Locke and Quistis.

"I'm sorry about that, Locke." Quistis said.

"No, it was my fault. Obviously, he cares a lot about you. You should go talk to him."

"Am I even allowed to?"

"Well, I'm sure Alandra won't care or notice. She's off sunbathing." Locke pointed out.

Quistis nodded and ran off to catch up with Squall.

  


"Squall!" Quistis called out.

"Shouldn't you be with your date?"

"Squall…" Quistis gently said, "I'm sorry, Squall, but you have to remember, this is all a game, meant to toy with feelings and emotions."

"A game…" Squall repeated, "It stopped being a game when my girlfriend dragged a guy with her into a bedroom…"

"I'm sorry, Squall." Quistis said, lowering her gaze.

Squall sighed and lifted up her chin so she would look into his eyes. "I lost someone who I thought was the love of my life, but upon doing so, I found you. I don't want to lose you too."

"You won't, Squall. Look, Locke obviously cares for Celes, if not Rachel as well. He probably just chose me so I would be on the yacht with you."

"Oh…"

Quistis leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

  


Zechs on a deckchair beside Schala, having just witnessed the preceding events. "That's cute."

Schala nodded in agreement. "I hope destiny smiles upon those two." 

~ 

Celes frowned, watching the other yacht.

"Why are you frowning, Celes?" Bart asked, concerned.

"I can see Locke from here." Celes answered, "And he's talking with Rachel now. Apparently, he and Squall just did a little date switch."

"That's allowed?"

"No, it's not." Celes said, sighing.

"But what's so bad about her?"

"She was his fiancée."

"Ouch. But then what happened?"

"She fell down a cliff."

Bart nearly fell over laughing.

"I am serious, you know."

"You are?"

Celes merely nodded.

"Oops." Bart said, sitting up straight and looking embarrassed. 

~ 

"So, Princess… what flavour ice cream shall we have today?" Duo asked Marle, standing in front of a cooler with ice cream.

"Let's try a mix today! How about neopolitan?"

"Sounds good to me." Duo said, starting to scoop out the ice cream.

"Duo… " Marle said seriously for a minute. "If there was no Hilde…. Would you…. Could you…. Fall in love with me?"

Duo stopped abruptly, dropping the ice cream scoop with a loud clunk. _Oh no… she doesn't…she doesn't love me… does she? She knows that I love Hilde, I've just been being friendly. I haven't been leading her on… have I?_

She sighed. "I didn't think so," she said softly as she took the bowl of ice cream from Duo's shaky hands.

"Marle, look at me." She did so, her large eyes misty He took her hands. "Marle… Crono loves you. He misses you…. I love Hilde too much to be anything more than friends…. But Crono needs you more than I ever would."

"So you're rejecting me." Marle echoed dimly.

"You didn't offer in the first place. Marle, you're emotionally needy right now. I would just be a rebound, anyway."

"How do you know? You don't know me." Marle snapped.

"I'm starting to get a little idea…" Duo smiled. 

~ 

"Hey, Hilde, isn't that your boyfriend?" Zell asked his "date." She looked up from licking her dreamsicle.

"Oooh!" She looked over at the other boat. Her jaw dropped when she saw that he had his hands intertwined with that girl's. _He looks like he's professing his undying love… I thought he wanted Marle and Crono to get back together like me! What about Crono? What about…me?_

"Hilde? What's wrong?" Zell asked, bringing her back to earth. 

"Nothing." She smiled sweetly at him. _Duo Maxwell, you'd better have a good reason for this. But, I'll trust you for now. Don't let me down._

~ 

"What's wrong? You've been quiet all this time." Tifa asked Irvine.

"I miss Sefie…" Irvine sighed.

"Come on… forget about her. I'm here."

Suddenly, Irvine got up, almost knocking over his chair in the process. "I'm sick of this! I'm sick of everyone practically forcing me to cheat on my girlfriend! I almost did, and look at where it got me! How am I supposed to stay away if everyone's pushing girls at me!? I DON'T WANT ANOTHER CHEAP SLUT! I WANT SELPHIE TILMITT!" He walked away. Tifa stared at his retreating back; her brown eyes wide open. 

~ 

Meanwhile, on the female's yacht, everyone had stopped dead, having heard Irvine's particularly loud outburst from the other boat.

Selphie stared down at her brandy slush. _Did he just say that…he wants me… and only me…?_

  


"We are young! Heartache to heartache, we stand! No promises, no demands! Love is a battlefield!" Amica was singing. She had her headphones on and apparently hadn't heard a word Irvine had shouted. 

  


"If only Edgar would say that about me…" Terra sighed. 

"He will someday." Sabin smiled. 

  


"About time that guy learned." Sephiroth commented to Noin. She nodded.

"Maybe some of us don't need this, but that guy certainly did." 

  


"Well, glad he finally learned his lesson." Sally grinned at Cloud. He didn't reply.

"Strong and silent." Sally mused. She almost preferred Wufei's endless ranting to this mime! 

  


The rest of the day passed pretty much uneventfully. Then Amica and Alandra revealed some disheartening information to the couples and singles:

"Tonight there's going to be a dance! All of the songs will be romantic ones, and everyone has to dance with their date. No exceptions. You may sit out, but you have to dance at least four dances. So, everyone go get changed into their formal clothes, and come back here." 

  


Everyone gave off gasps as they stepped through the expensive double doors and saw the room awaiting them.

The floor waspolished wood; the walls covered with simple yet elegant wallpaper with light pink and violet designs. Shimmering flowers, pearls, ribbons, and tiny hints of glitter in shades of pink and purple decorated the room, but it was just the right amount; it didn't at all give off the effect of a school cafeteria decorated for Valentine's Day. On one side of the large room were rosewood tables covered with lacy white tablecloths and sparkling sterling silver dinnerware with porcelain plates and crystalline champagne glasses; lighted in the middle with a single candle surrounded by a few pink roses. The lights were dimmed, with a disco ball giving off a dim aura of light, accompanied by the lit candles and the moonlight shining in from the windows. Soft romantic music greeted them as they stepped into the room, astonished at how gorgeous this place was. The place seemed like it was stepped right out from a fairytale, the place where Beauty danced with the Beast, or where Cinderella fell in love with her Prince Charming. 

Even if there were two rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls, they were exactly the same except for the DJ sitting facing the dance floor; Amica was the DJ for the guys, Alandra was the DJ for the girls. 

  


"Please, have a seat." Amica smiled. "We will have a dinner and then dancing." 

  


As the couples sat down, their wineglasses were filled with red wine and their plates eventually filled with delicious hors d'oeuvres and fresh salad with cucumbers and the other things you put on salad; then the main course of pasta sprinkled with sauce and Parmesan cheese, served with vegetables. Then there was a dessert with your choice of a rich chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream, or strawberries in cream. After the sumptuous meal, fruit was served to snack on, and the wine was refilled to those who needed it to sip throughout the rest of the evening. 

  


"I won't be able to dance after that meal!" Everyone was heard to say, but the DJs shook their head and put on music.

"Get up and dance!" 

Guys

"Alright you lovebirds, I have a specific request to play only romantic music. So… here goes! A little Survivor for you!" 

Squall stood up and took Rachel in his arms. Her eyes were on Locke who was dancing with Quistis, but he didn't notice, as he was eyeing Quistis. She smiled at him, and he mouthed "I… love you" 

_How can I convince you what you see is real   
Who am I to blame you for doubting what you feel   
I was always reachin', you were just a girl I knew   
I took for granted the friend I have in you _

He put his arm around Rachel's waist… if he closed his eyes; he could imagine Quistis right here with him. 

_I was living for a dream, loving for a moment   
Taking on the world, that was just my style   
Now I look into your eyes, I can see forever   
The search is over, you were with me all the while_

Rachel…. Celes. Rachel… Celes. Locke sighed, glancing at the pretty girl dancing with Squall. He was so confused… he loved Celes, but he still felt something for Rachel. The raven-haired woman met his glance, and Locke could feel the heat passing between their two pairs of eyes. 

_Can we last forever, will we fall apart   
At times it's so confusing, the questions of the heart   
You followed me through changes, and patiently you'd wait   
Till I came to my senses, through some miracle of fate_

What does Celes have that I don't? Rachel wondered. After all, Locke was engaged to her… and she still loved him. She didn't know what to do… it wasn't right to steal another woman's man, but Locke wasn't just any man… 

_I was living for a dream, loving for a moment   
Taking on the world, that was just my style   
Now I look into your eyes, I can see forever   
The search is over, you were with me all the while_

Quistis couldn't believe this was happening to her. Did he just mouth what I think he mouthed? She wondered. She had loved Squall for a long time now… was this really happening? Was she just dreaming this? Her face aglow with happiness, she mouthed back in return: "I love you." 

_Now the miles stretch out behind me, loves that I have lost   
Broken hearts lie victims of the game   
Then good luck, it finally stuck like lightning from the blue   
Every highway's leading me back to you   
Now at last I hold you, now all is said and done   
The search has come full circle, our destinies are one   
So if you ever loved me, show me that you give a damn   
You'll know for certain the man I really am_

The two couples danced; each wishing the other was there instead of their actual date. 

_I was living for a dream, loving for a moment   
Taking on the world, that was just my style   
When I touched your hand, I could hear you whisper   
The search is over, love was right before my eyes_

The song ended, and everyone stood there, engrossed in either someone else's date, their own thoughts, or in some cases their own dance partner. 

"Wasn't that beautiful?" Amica sniffed from her position behind the DJ booth. "I do so love that song… This next artist I dislike, but this is one of the few songs by her that I love…. Here's Celine Dion!" 

Music started playing, and Duo took Marle in his arms. 

_Take me, to the arms I love  
Need me, like you did before  
Touch me once again  
And remember when  
There was no one that you wanted more_

Duo glanced into the eyes of the woman in his arms. He missed Hilde… but Marle sure was intriguing. He'd never been intrigued this much by Hilde. He noticed how pretty she was as her red hair and the silky fabric of her dress did a dance of its own as he twirled her. 

_Don't go, you know you will break my heart  
She won't love you like I will  
I'm the one who'll stay  
when she walks away  
And you know I'll be standing here still_

Marle smiled. She felt so safe in Duo's arms… she wanted to stay in this moment forever. 

_I'll be waiting for you  
Here inside my heart  
I'm the one who wants to love you more  
You will see I can give you  
Everything you need  
Let me be the one to love you more_

Her happiness faded as she remembered how she felt the same way when Crono held her. What she felt for Crono was deep… but what she felt for Duo was something new and different… but because of Hilde, they couldn't pursue those feelings. 

_See me, as if you never knew  
Hold me, so you can't let go  
Just believe in me  
I will make you see  
All the things that your heart needs to know_

What am I going to do? Duo wondered. He couldn't deny that he had feelings for Marle, because he did… but he also had feelings for Hilde. 

_I'll be waiting for you  
Here inside my heart  
I'm the one who wants to love you more  
Can't you see I can give you everything you need  
Let me be the one to love you more_

The two danced silently, staring into each other's eyes as they glided along the dance floor. 

_And some way, all the love that we had can be saved  
Whatever it takes, we'll find a way_

Suddenly, their steps became less complex, and they fell into a slower pace, as well into each other's arms. Marle rested her head on Duo's shoulder. 

_I'll be waiting for you  
here inside my heart  
I'm the one who wants to love you more  
Can't you see I can give you everything you need  
Let me be the one to love you more_

The music faded out, and both snapped out of their reverie, realizing with a start how close they were holding each other. 

"This is such a fun job!" Amica said happily. "Next song will be a little Chicago!" 

Edgar stepped out onto the floor, reluctantly holding Dorothy as far away from him as possible. The girl really freaked him out. 

Irvine followed suit, trying to keep Tifa at an arm's length from him. The music started. 

_"Everybody needs a little time away," I heard her say, "from each other."  
"Even lover's need a holiday far away from each other."  
Hold me now.  
It's hard for me to say I'm sorry.  
I just want you to stay._

Edgar wished that Terra was here with him. He wished it was her head leaning against his shoulder, not Dorothy's. He wanted to feel her body against his, to feel the warmth of her in his arms. 

_After all that we've been through,  
I will make it up to you. I promise to.  
And after all that's been said and done,  
You're just the part of me I can't let go._

Irvine felt despair wash over him. Why did it have to be Tifa he was holding, not Selphie? He missed the bubbly little girl like a drowning swimmer would miss oxygen… why hadn't he realized earlier how lucky he was just to be with her? Because you're an idiot, he reminded himself. Oh yeah, that's why, he reminded himself glumly. 

_Couldn't stand to be kept away just for the day from your body.  
Wouldn't wanna be swept away, far away from the one that I love.  
Hold me now.  
It's hard for me to say I'm sorry.  
I just want you to know.  
Hold me now.  
I really want to tell you I'm sorry.  
I could never let you go._

No… Edgar thought. I could never let you go, Terra. 

If I had to let you go, Selphie, I'd die, Irvine wished he would have said that to her, when he'd had a chance. 

_After all that we've been through,  
I will make it up to you. I promise to.  
And after all that's been said and done,  
You're just the part of me I can't let go._

The two men danced with their partners; their minds focusing on another face, not the ones in front of them. 

_After all that we've been through,  
I will make it up to you. I promise to._

_You're gonna be the lucky one._

The music ended. 

Girls

After the girls had the same meal as the guys, they got on the dance floor with their dates.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not allowed to play fast music tonight… so I hope you guys can slowdance! Amica has selected the playlist for tonight, as she's the music buff around here…" Alandra winked at them. "First song of tonight is from a favorite musical of hers… here's some Miss Saigon for you guys!" 

_I don't want this  
Don't want to fight her  
What did I do  
I didn't come here to meet a girl  
Who loves my husband_

Celes danced with Bart, but her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't help but think of Locke and Rachel. 

_Chris has a son, he has to see him  
But if he does… she'll be there with him  
I came here to help, but what can I do?  
Now, after this, what can I do?_

Did he still love her? Celes wondered, wishing the ominous thought would go away. She couldn't bear the thought. 

_There are days, there are days when your life  
Clouds over  
And the world gets so dark  
That all at once you can't tell night from day  
There are times when your heart cries  
This isn't happening  
But the truth is cold and real  
And I know the storm won't go away_

He was once engaged to her… the only thing that had stopped their marriage was Rachel getting amnesia. The thought didn't comfort Celes one bit. 

_Now that I've seen her there's no way to hide  
She is not some fling from long ago  
Now that I've seen her I know why he lied  
And I think it was better  
When I didn't know_

Sure, she had barred Locke from dating Rachel officially… but that didn't mean they couldn't see each other unofficially. 

_In her eyes, in her voice  
In the heat that fills the air  
Part of him still lingers there  
I know what pain her life today must be  
But if it all comes down to her or me  
I won't wait  
I swear I'll fight_

She wouldn't give up Locke without a struggle, that's for sure. Celes would see it through until the bitter end. She wouldn't give up until the two were practically engaged, if that happened. 

_Now that I've seen her, she's more than a name  
She is not some fling from long ago  
Now that I've seen her I can't stay the same  
Who's the man that I always trusted?  
Now I have to know_

The music ended, and everyone stood motionless, waiting for the next song. 

"Speaking of musicals, here's something from Grease!" Alandra said, switching on the next song. 

_Guess mine is not the first heartbroken  
My eyes are not the first to cry  
I'm not the first to know  
There's just no getting over you_

Terra's thoughts were on anything but Sabin as she danced with him. She was thinking about Edgar…. Should she forgive him? He hadn't really slept with anyone, after all… he hadn't renounced their relationship out in public. 

_You know I'm just a fool who's willing  
To sit around and wait for you  
But baby, can't you see?  
There's nothing else for me to do  
I'm hopelessly devoted to you_

Selphie was thinking the same thing about Irvine. He seemed sorry, and willing to change… perhaps she should take him back… 

_But now there's nowhere to hide  
Since you pushed my love aside  
I'm out of my head  
Hopelessly devoted to you  
Hopelessly devoted to you_

Terra smiled. This was making her feel a lot better…. She'd give Edgar a second chance. But if he screwed up again… she might not be so forgiving. 

_My head is saying fool, forget him  
My heart is saying don't let go  
Hold on till the end  
And that's what I intend to do  
I'm hopelessly devoted to you_

He really did seem sorry… Selphie reflected. And maybe now he's gotten it out of his system, and he'll be faithful from now on. 

_But now there's nowhere to hide  
Since you pushed my life aside  
I'm out of my head  
Hopelessly devoted to you  
Hopelessly devoted to you_

The two women danced, feeling a lot better about this whole situation. 

_Hopelessly devoted to you  
Hopelessly devoted to you_

"Alright, next song… here's some Faith Hill for everyone!" Alandra grinned at everyone as they put their arms around their dance partners and began to sway to the music. 

_When I think back on these times  
And the dreams we left behind  
I'll be glad cause I was blessed to get  
To have you in my life_

"This is so nice…" Sally murmured to Cloud. He nodded. She sighed, wishing her date would say a little more. 

_When I look back on these days  
I'll look and see your face  
You were right there for me_

If only Zechs was here, Noin thought. Oh well… Sephiroth was pretty cute. She'd enjoy this dance, but it'd be just as friends. She didn't understand how people could cheat on their girlfriend or boyfriend just like that… she honestly didn't feel anything for this guy, even if he was really hot. 

_In my dreams I always see you  
Soar above the sky  
In my heart there'll always be   
a place for you  
For all my life  
I'll keep a part of you with me  
And everywhere I am   
There you'll be_

Hilde smiled from Zell's embrace. She wondered what Duo was doing right now… even if he was dancing with Marle, the thought didn't bother her right now. She trusted him. 

Meanwhile, the same song was playing in the guys' dance. 

_Well, you showed me how it feels  
To feel the sky within my reach  
And I always will remember  
All the strength you gave to me  
Your love made me make it through  
Oh, I owe so much to you  
You were right there for me_

Zechs twirled the lovely girl he was dancing with. Such a romantic atmosphere… he thought bemusedly. Too bad it didn't work, Schala was very beautiful, but he didn't have any urge to "go screw her." 

_In my dreams I always see you  
Soar above the sky  
In my heart there'll always be  
A place for you for all my life  
I'll keep a part of you with me  
And everywhere I am   
There'll you be_

Squall smiled at Quistis, and she smiled back at him. The small gesture made his heart leap into his throat, and he wondered why he had ever gone with Rinoa with such a great girl near him all along. 

_Cause I always saw in you my life  
My strength  
And I wanna thank you now for   
All the ways  
You were right there for me  
You were right there for me_

Locke was so torn… he loved both Rachel and Celes. He wanted to punch Squall, seeing him dance with her. He may have if Rachel wasn't gazing at him lovingly. 

_Always…_

Edgar wished he could drop Dorothy, and swim across to the other yacht and go get Terra. She would have loved to be here… 

_In my dreams I always see you  
Soar above the sky  
In my heart there'll always be  
A place for you  
For all my life_

Big boobs, and that's it. Irvine thought disgustedly about Tifa. Why had he almost left Selphie for this bimbo? He wished he could trade places with Setzer right about now. 

_I'll keep a part of you with me  
And everywhere I am there you'll be_

The music slowed, and everyone's steps slowed as well. 

_There you'll be…_

Music played all night, and the dancing kept going, but then all too soon it was time to go back to the isle. 


End file.
